Semiconductor device and manufacturing method of semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device includes first and second photo-electric conversion elements, each having a light-receiving surface, disposed adjacent to each other, each outputting a light current that is a current corresponding to an intensity of received light, a first filter disposed on the light-receiving surface of the first photo-electric conversion element, a second filter disposed on the light-receiving surface of the second photo-electric conversion element, and a third filter disposed on the light-receiving surface of the second photo-electric conversion element and being in contact with the second filter, one end of the second filter and one end of the third filter overlapping one end of the first filter at a vicinity of a boundary between the first photo-electric conversion element and the second photo-electric conversion element.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and amanufacturing method for a semiconductor device.

BACKGROUND ARTS

As the ozone deletion causes more UV radiation to reach the earth'ssurface, the effect of UV light included in the sunlight on a human bodyand environment is becoming a greater concern.

The three types of UV radiation are classified as follows:long-wavelength ultraviolet light (UV-A: wavelength approximately 320 nmto 400 nm); medium-wavelength ultraviolet light (UV-B: wavelengthapproximately 280 nm to 320 nm); and short-wavelength ultraviolet light(UV-C: wavelength approximately 280 nm or shorter), and the effect on ahuman body and environment differs depending on the wavelength. UV-A canpenetrate into the deeper layers of the skin and is responsible for theimmediate tanning effect. It also contributes to skin aging. UV-B isresponsible for skin burning, and promotes the development of skincancer. UV-C has a strong bactericidal effect, but it is almostcompletely filtered by the ozone layer and little reaches the earth'ssurface.

It has been significantly important to immediately detect the amount ofdaily UV radiation in order to protect a human body, and the UV index,which functions as an indicator of the UV radiation amount, wasintroduced in 1995. The UV index indicates a relative degree of impacton a human body, and can be calculated using the CIE action spectrum,which was defined by CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage).

Against this background, there is a strong demand for a technique toaccurately detect the radiation amount of UV-A and UV-B, respectively,included in the ultraviolet light. There is also a stronger demand for atechnique to measure the UV radiation amount that can detect theradiation amount of UV-B and the total amount of UV-A and UV-B at thesame time.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2008-251709(Patent Document 1) discloses a UV light receiving element in which thefirst filter that allows UV-A, UV-B and visible light through isdisposed on the first photo-diode, and the second filter that allowsUV-A and visible light through is disposed on the second photo-diode.With this configuration, it is possible to separately detect theradiation amount of UV-A and the radiation amount of UV-B based on theradiation amount detected by the first photo-diode and the radiationamount detected by the second photo-diode. In the UV light receivingelement disclosed in Patent Document 1, a difference in the lightabsorbing property between the first filter and second filter isdetermined by the amount of hydrogen contained in a silicon nitrogenfilm included in each filter.

WO 2012/137539 Pamphlet (Patent Document 2) discloses a UV light sensorin which a protective film and a filter film are stacked on aphoto-diode. The protective film has a high light transmittance in thewavelength range of UV-A and UV-B, and the filter film is made of amulti-layer film formed by alternately stacking a low refractive indexmaterial and a high refractive index material and having a high lighttransmittance in the wavelength range of UV-A and UV-B, the filter filmalso having the filter property that can block UV-C and visible light.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, the inventor of the present invention has proved that it isdifficult to accurately detect the radiation amount of UV-B with the UVlight receiving element disclosed in Patent Document 1 described abovebecause the radiation amount of UV-A is generally much higher than theradiation amount of UV-B in UV light included in sunlight. Furthermore,the UV light receiving element disclosed in Patent Document 1 is noteffective to accurately detect the radiation amount of UV-B becausevisible light is detected by the photo-diode.

The problem of the UV light receiving element above will be explained indetail with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a graph showing thespectral response of a photo-diode when a filter made of a single layerof silicon nitride is disposed on the photo-diode. This graph wasobtained by the inventor of the present invention. FIG. 11 shows thespectral response for respective photo-diodes with a 100 nm-thicksilicon nitride film (SiN), a 200 nm-thick silicon nitride film, and nosilicon nitride film.

As shown in FIG. 11, by forming the filter film made of a single layerof silicon nitride, not only the response to UV-B (wavelength ofapproximately 280 nm to 320 nm), the response to UV-A (wavelength ofapproximately 320 nm to 400 nm) is also lowered. Thus, it is notpossible to accurately calculate the radiation amount of UV-B by simplyobtaining the difference between the two. As described above, the filterfilm made of a single layer of silicon nitride cannot provide asufficient wavelength selectivity for UV-A and UV-B, and therefore, itis difficult to properly separate UV-A from UV-B. This makes it verydifficult to accurately detect the radiation amount of UV-B, little ofwhich exists in sunlight.

The filter film in the UV sensor disclosed in Patent Document 2, whichis formed by alternately stacking a low refractive index material and ahigh refractive index material, has a problem of not being able toexhibit a desired filter property because when the film thickness of theuppermost layer of the filter film changes, the filter property of therefractive material of the uppermost layer changes, which causes astanding wave in the stacked refractive materials.

Also, in order to form a filter film that blocks the first wavelengthrange and the second wavelength range by stacking the first filter filmmade of a multiple layers and blocking the first wavelength range, andthe second filter film made of a multiple layers and blocking the secondwavelength range, the first filter film and the second filter film needto be formed continuously. That is, in a two-step manufacturing processof forming the second filter film on the first filter film, if the firstfilter film is exposed to the atmosphere after the manufacturing processof the first filter film, for example, the organic material attached tothe surface of the first filter film hinders or accelerates the growthof the refractive material of the second filter on the first filterfilm. This would change the filter property, which depends on thethickness of the refractive material, and a standing wave is generatedin the stacked refractive material. In a case of a filter film thatcontains metal, if the first filter film is left in the atmosphere afterthe manufacturing process of the first filter film, the material of thesurface of the first filter film is oxidized, which would change thefilter property of the refractive material of the uppermost layer, andas a result, a standing wave is generated in the stacked refractivematerial. Thus, even with the UV sensor disclosed in Patent Document 2,it is difficult to appropriately separate UV-A from UV-B, and accuratelydetect UV-B.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentionedproblems, and is aiming at providing a semiconductor device that canseparate UV-A from UV-B more appropriately and detect the radiationamount of UV-B more accurately, and a manufacturing method of such asemiconductor device.

According to one aspect of the invention, a semiconductor deviceincludes a first photo-electric conversion element and a secondphoto-electric conversion element disposed adjacent to each other, thefirst photo-electric conversion element and the second photo-electricconversion element each outputting a light current that is a currentcorresponding to an intensity of received light, each of the first andsecond photo-electric conversion elements having a light-receivingsurface, a first filter disposed on the light-receiving surface of thefirst photo-electric conversion element, a second filter disposed on thelight-receiving surface of the second photo-electric conversion element,and a third filter disposed on the light-receiving surface of the secondphoto-electric conversion element and being in contact with the secondfilter, one end of the second filter and one end of the third filteroverlapping one end of the first filter at a vicinity of a boundarybetween the first photo-electric conversion element and the secondphoto-electric conversion element.

According to another aspect of the invention, a semiconductor deviceincludes a first photo-electric conversion element and a secondphoto-electric conversion element, each having a light-receivingsurface, disposed adjacent to each other, the first photo-electricconversion element and the second photo-electric conversion element eachoutputting a light current that is a current corresponding to anintensity of received light, a first filter disposed on thelight-receiving surface of each of the first photo-electric conversionelement and the second photo-electric conversion element, the firstfilter being configured to block light of a first wavelength range, anda second filter disposed on the first filter above the light-receivingsurface of the second photo-electric conversion element, the secondfilter being configured to block light of a second wavelength rangedifferent from the first wavelength.

According to one aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing asemiconductor device includes forming, on a substrate, a firstphoto-electric conversion element and a second photo-electric conversionelement, each having a light-receiving surface, disposed adjacent toeach other, the first photo-electric conversion element and the secondphoto-electric conversion element each outputting a light current thatis a current corresponding to an intensity of received light, forming afirst filter on the light-receiving surface of the first photo-electricconversion element, and forming a second filter and a third filter onthe light-receiving surface of the second photo-electric conversionelement such that one end of the second filter and one end of the thirdfilter overlapping one end of the first filter at a boundary between thefirst photo-electric conversion element and the second photo-electricconversion element.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide asemiconductor device that can separate UV-A from UV-B more appropriatelyand detect the radiation amount of UV-B more accurately, and amanufacturing method of such a semiconductor device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of theconfiguration of a semiconductor device of Embodiment 1.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of thesemiconductor device of Embodiment 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of theconfiguration of a multi-layer filter in the semiconductor device of anembodiment.

FIGS. 4A-4D are part of vertical cross-sectional views showing anexample of a manufacturing process of the semiconductor device ofEmbodiment 1.

FIGS. 5A-5D are part of vertical cross-sectional views showing anexample of the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device ofEmbodiment 1.

FIGS. 6A-6D are part of vertical cross-sectional views showing anexample of the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device ofEmbodiment 1.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the combination of respective filterproperties according to a modification example of Embodiment 1.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of theconfiguration of a semiconductor device of Embodiment 2.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are vertical cross-sectional views and a plan viewshowing an example of the configuration of a semiconductor device ofEmbodiment 3.

FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a filterin a semiconductor device of Embodiment 4, and FIGS. 10B and 10C aregraphs showing the transmittance and reflectance of the filter withrespect to those of a comparison example.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the spectral response of a UV sensor in whicha filter made of a silicon nitride film is disposed on a photo-diode.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Below, embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detailwith reference to figures.

Embodiment 1

A semiconductor device 10 of Embodiment 1 and a manufacturing method ofthe semiconductor device 10 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1to 7. The semiconductor device 10 is an embodiment in which thesemiconductor device of the present invention is applied to a UV lightreceiving element, which is an example of the semiconductor device.

As described below, the semiconductor device 10 (UV light receivingelement) includes a first photo-diode 80A and a second photo-diode 80B.Therefore, in the descriptions below, an area where the firstphoto-diode 80A is formed in the semiconductor device 10 will bereferred to as the area A, and an area where the second photo-diode 80Bis formed in the semiconductor device 10 will be referred to as the areaB. Among the same constituting elements, the constituting elementsprimarily belonging to the area A will be denoted with A in the end ofthe respective reference characters, and the constituting elementsprimarily belonging to the area B will be denoted with B in the end ofthe respective reference characters.

The imaginary line X in FIG. 1 is a boundary line between the area A andthe area B. As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor device 10 includes asubstrate 12, a buried oxide film 14, the first photo-diode 80A, thesecond photo-diode 80B (will be collectively referred to as aphoto-diode 80 where necessary), a P-side wiring layer 24A, an N-sidewiring layer 26A, a P-side wiring layer 24B, an N-side wiring layer 26B,an interlayer insulating film 28, a first filter 30A, a second filter30B, and a third filter 32. A first filter 30A is overlapped with thesecond and third filters 30B, 32 at a vicinity of the boundary betweenthe area A and the area B.

In this embodiment, an SOI (silicon on insulator) substrate is used, forexample, and the substrate 12 corresponds to an Si (silicon) substrateof the SOI substrate, the buried oxide film 14 corresponds to BOX, and alayer where the photo-diode 80 is formed corresponds to the siliconlayer.

The first photo-diode 80A includes a P− diffusion layer 20A, a P+diffusion layer 16A, an N+ diffusion layer 18A, and element separationregions 22A and 22C. The photo-diode 80A is a photo-electric conversionelement that outputs a light current that is a current in accordancewith the intensity of radiated UV light. That is, a lateral PN junctionphoto-diode is formed by the P+ diffusion layer 16A and the N+ diffusionlayer 18A disposed to face each other, and the P− diffusion layer 20Adisposed in contact with the P+ diffusion layer 16A and the N+ diffusionlayer 18A.

The P+ diffusion layer 16A is formed by dispersing a P-type impurity ina silicon layer at a relatively high concentration, and forms the anodeelectrode of the first photo-diode 80A together with the P-side wiringlayer 24A. On the other hand, the N+ diffusion layer 18A is formed bydispersing an N-type impurity in a silicon layer at a relatively highconcentration, and forms the cathode electrode of the first photo-diode80A together with the N-side wiring layer 26A.

The P− diffusion layer 20A is a primary light-receiving region in thefirst photo-diode 80A, and is formed by diffusing a P-type impurity in asilicon layer at a relatively low concentration. In the firstphoto-diode 80A, UV light is absorbed by a depletion layer formed in theP− diffusion layer 20A, thereby generating electron-hole pairs. Byextracting those electron-hole pairs as a light current, the amount ofUV light is measured (detected). The thickness of the P− diffusion layer20A is smaller than those of the P+ diffusion layer 16A and the N+diffusion layer 18A, and is set to 36 nm or thinner, for example. Bysetting the thickness of the P− diffusion layer 20A, which functions asthe light-receiving region, to 36 nm or smaller, it is possible to lowerthe sensitivity of the first photo-diode 80A to light having a greaterwavelength than those of UV-A and UV-B. As a result, the firstphoto-diode 80A has a desired spectral response as a UV sensor.

The element separation regions 22A and 22C are formed by an insulatorsuch as a silicon oxide film (SiO₂ film), and are disposed to surroundthe first photo-diode 80A so that the photo-diode 80A is insulated fromother elements such as the photo-diode 80B. The first photo-diode 80Aand the second photo-diode 80B are disposed adjacent to each otheracross the element separation region 22C.

Each of the P-side wiring layer 24A and the N-side wiring layer 26A is awiring layer including wiring L and contact plugs P, and connects thefirst photo-diode 80A to other circuit elements and wiring of thesemiconductor device 10. FIG. 1 shows an example of four-layer wiring,but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number ofwiring layers may be any number required by the semiconductor device 10.

The second photo-diode 80B includes a P− diffusion layer 20B, a P+diffusion layer 16B, an N+ diffusion layer 18B, element separationregions 22B and 22C, a P-side wiring layer 24B, and an N-side wiringlayer 26B. Similar to the first photo-diode 80A, the second photo-diode80B is a photo-electric conversion element that outputs a light currentin accordance with the intensity of radiated UV light. Thus, overlappingconfigurations are denoted with the same reference characters with B inthe end, and the detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. In thedescriptions below, the P-side wiring layer 24A, the N-side wiring layer26A, the P-side wiring layer 24B, and the N-side wiring layer 26B maycollectively be referred to as the “wiring layer”. The elementseparation regions 22A, 22B, and 22C may collectively referred to as the“element separation region 22” as well.

The interlayer insulating film 28 is an insulating film formed to coverthe first photo-diode 80A and the second photo-diode 80B, and is formedof an insulator such as a silicon oxide film. The P-side wiring layer24A, the N-side wiring layer 26A, the P-side wiring layer 24B, and theN-side wiring layer 26B are respectively formed inside of thisinterlayer insulating film 28. The thickness of the interlayerinsulating film 28 is approximately 4 μm in the case of four-layerwiring, for example.

The first filter 30A is formed at the top part of the first photo-diode80A, or in other words, so as to cover the light-incident side of thefirst photo-diode 80A. The first filter 30A is an optical filter havingthe function of shielding visible light, but in the semiconductor device10, the photo-diode 80 itself is configured to block light in a visiblerange having a longer wavelength than that of UV light. Therefore, thefirst filter 30A of this embodiment is configured to mainly blockvisible light of blue and violet wavelengths near the boundary areabetween UV light and visible light. This way, UV light and visible lightcan be separated more reliably. With the first filter 30A, the entire UVlight (primarily UV-A and UV-B) enters the first photo-diode 80A. Thatis, the total amount of UV light is detected by the first photo-diode80A. Below, blue and violet visible light will be referred to as “PBlight,” and an optical filter that cuts off the blue and violet visiblelight will be referred to as a “PB cut filter.”

The second filter 30B and the third filter 32 are formed at the top partof the second photo-diode 80B, or in other words, so as to cover thelight-incident side of the second photo-diode 80B. Similar to the firstfilter 30A, the second filter 30B is an optical filter having thefunction of blocking visible light. On the other hand, in thisembodiment, the third filter 32 is a filter configured to block UV-A(UV-A cut filter). With the second filter 30B and the third filter 32,the second photo-diode 80B mainly receives UV-B of the entire UV light.That is, UV-B is detected by the second photo-diode 80B.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the semiconductor device 10 of FIG. 1 whenviewed from above. As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 42 is formed in thesecond filter 30B and the third filter 32 covering the semiconductordevice 10, and through the opening 42, the first filter 30A is exposed.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the structures of the respective firstfilter 30A, the second filter 30B, and the third filter 32 of thisembodiment (may collectively be referred to as the “filter group” below)will be explained in further detail. In this embodiment, each of thefilter group is formed using a multi-layer film filter 90 shown in FIG.3, for example. The multi-layer film filter 90 is an optical filterformed by alternatively laminating a high refractive index film 94,which has a relatively higher refractive index, and a low refractiveindex film 96, which has a relatively lower refractive index.

The high refractive index film 94 and the low refractive index film 96are respectively configured so as to fulfill the following Formula 1 andFormula 2, where the refractive index of the high refractive index film94 of the multi-layer film filter 90 is n₁, the film thickness thereofis d₁, the refractive index of the low refractive index film 96 is n₂,the film thickness thereof is d₂, and the median wavelength of the lightto be blocked is λ_(C):

n ₁ ·d ₁=λ_(C)/4   Formula 1

n ₂ ·d ₂=λ_(C)/4   Formula 2

By forming the multi-layer film filter 90 of a plurality ofhigh-refractive index films 94 and low refractive index films 96alternately laminated so as to fulfill Formula 1 and Formula 2 above,light reflected at the border between each layer is canceled out, andthe transmittance of the light with the median wavelength λ_(C) isreduced. That is, in the example of a UV-A cut filter designed to cutthe light with the median wavelength of the UV-A wavelength range(approximately 360 nm, for example), UV-A that enters the multi-layerfilm filter 90 and is reflected at the boundary between the highrefractive index film 94 and the low refractive index film 96 has thephase inverted, and is canceled out, while the intensity of UV-B, whichtravels in the direction of light transmittance, is enhanced as thephase is aligned. This way, the UV-A cut filter designed to cut thelight with the median wavelength of the UV-A wavelength range can havethe wavelength selectivity that allows UV-A through with the lowertransmittance than that of UV-B. In other words, the UV-A cut filter canhave the wavelength selectivity that keeps the transmittance of UV-A ata prescribed value or lower. A cut filter may have a plurality of medianwavelengths λ_(C) to be cut off, and in the case of UV-A cut filter, forexample, the median wavelengths λ_(C) may be set to 350 nm and 380 nm.The right hand side of Formula 1 and Formula 2 is not limited to λ_(C),and may be an integral multiplication of λ_(C).

As for the refractive index of the high refractive index film 94 and thelow refractive index film 96, it is preferable that the difference inrefractive index between the high refractive index film 94 and the lowrefractive index film 96 be at least 0.4, and the refractive index ofthe high refractive index film 94 be 2 or smaller. In view of thispoint, it is preferable to use a silicon nitride film (Si₃N₄) with therefractive index of about 1.8 for the material of the high refractiveindex film 94. Also, it is preferable to use a silicon oxide film with arefractive index of about 1.4 for the material of the low refractiveindex film 96. The high refractive index film 94 may be made of one or amixture of tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), titaniumoxide (TiO₂), and lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), for example. The lowrefractive index film 96 may be made of magnesium fluoride (MgF₂),silicon oxide (SiO₂), or a mixture of silicon oxide (SiO₂) and aluminumoxide (A1 ₂O₃).

For example, in the case of the first filter 30A and the second filter30B, which are the PB cut filter, the thickness of the silicon nitridefilm (high refractive index film 94) is set to 60 nm, the thickness ofthe silicon oxide film (low refractive index film 96) is set to 75 nm,and five pairs to ten pairs are stacked. A pair is made up of one highrefractive index film 94 and one low refractive index film 96, and thenumber of pairs means the number of the pair included in the multi-layerfilm filter 90. For example, FIG. 3 shows the case in which there arefive pairs. On the other hand, in the case of the third filter 32, whichis the UV-A cut filter, the thickness of the silicon nitride film (highrefractive index film 94) is set to 40 nm, the thickness of the siliconoxide film (low refractive index film 96) is set to 50 nm, and fivepairs to ten pairs are stacked.

In the embodiment described above, the high refractive index film wasmade of a silicon nitride film, for example, but the present inventionis not limited to this, and a metal oxide film with a refractive indexof about 1.8 to 2.2 may be used, for example.

Below, a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device 10 of thisembodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIGS. 4 to6 are vertical cross-sectional views showing an example of themanufacturing method of the semiconductor device 10. In this embodiment,a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device 10 using an SOIsubstrate will be explained as one example, but it is also possible toemploy a manufacturing method that does not use an SOI substrate. Also,in the configuration described below, the wiring layer has a two-layerstructure, for example. In this embodiment, when a layer is formed“above another layer” or “above a substrate”, that means that the layeris formed on another layer or substrate not only directly, but alsoindirectly through the third layer.

First, an SOI substrate is prepared by forming a buried oxide film 14(BOX) and a silicon layer 15 on a silicon substrate 12. In thisembodiment, the silicon layer 15 is made of P-type silicon. Next, an ioninjection process is conducted to inject a P-type impurity of a lowconcentration into a region A part of the silicon layer 15 correspondingto the P− diffusion layer 20A of the first photo-diode 80A and into aregion B part of the silicon layer 15 corresponding to the P− diffusionlayer 20B of the second photo-diode 80B.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4A, the element separation regions 22 (elementseparation regions 22A, 22B, and 22C) are formed in the silicon layer 15so as to surround the areas where the first photo-diode 80A and thesecond photo-diode 80B are to be formed. The element separation regions22 can be formed using a known STI (shallow trench isolation) process,for example. The STI process includes a process to form a groove in thesilicon layer 15 so as to reach the buried oxide film 14, a process toembed an insulator such as a silicon oxide film in this groove, and aprocess to remove unnecessary insulator deposited on the surface of thesilicon layer 15 by CMP (chemical mechanical polishing). The elementseparation regions 22 may alternatively be formed by a known LOCOSmethod (Local Oxidation of Silicon).

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, parts of the silicon layer 15 are etchedthrough photolithography and etching, thereby forming a recess 44Acorresponding to the P− diffusion layer 20A of the first photo-diode 80Aand a recess 44B corresponding to the P− diffusion layer 20B of thesecond photo-diode 80B. With this process, the thickness of the siliconlayer 15 in the area corresponding to the P− diffusion layer 20A and thearea corresponding to the P− diffusion layer 20B is reduced toapproximately 36 nm. By setting the thickness of the areas correspondingto the P-diffusion layers 20A and 20B to 36 nm or smaller, thesensitivity of the first photo-diode 80A and the second photo-diode 80Bto the light having a greater wavelength than that of UV light includingUV-A and UV-B can be reduced, and as a result, a desired spectralresponse for a UV sensor can be achieved.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, a III group element such as boron-is injectedinto the silicon layer 15 by a known ion injection method, therebyforming the P+ diffusion layer 16A of the first photo-diode 80A and theP+ diffusion layer 16B of the second photo-diode 80B. Thereafter, a Vgroup element such as phosphorus or arsenic is injected into the siliconlayer 15 by a known ion injection method, thereby forming the N+diffusion layer 18A of the first photodiode 80A and the N+ diffusionlayer 18B of the second photo-diode 80B. In the first photo-diode 80Aand the second photo-diode 80B, the P− diffusion layers 20A and 20B areformed in respective locations where the recesses 44A and 44B areformed, and the pair of P+ diffusion layer 16A and N+ diffusion layer18A and the pair of P+ diffusion layer 16B and the N+ diffusion layer18B are disposed so as to sandwich the respective P− diffusion layers20A and 20B.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, an interlayer insulating film 28 made of aninsulator such as a silicon oxide film is formed through the CVD methodor the like on the surface of the silicon layer 15 on which the firstphoto-diode 80A and the second photo-diode 80B are formed.

Next, via holes that penetrate the interlayer insulating film 28 andreach the P+ diffusion layers 16A and 16B and the N+ diffusion layers18A and 18B are formed, and thereafter, a metal film is formed on theinterlayer insulating film so as to fill the via holes. Then, the metalfilm is processed through the photolithography and etching so as to formthe contact plug P and wiring line L. This process is repeated for thenumber of wiring layers, and as shown in FIG. 5A, the wiring layers,which are the P-side wiring layers 24A and 24B and the N-side wiringlayers 26A and 26B are formed. In FIG. 5A, the wiring layer has atwo-layer structure, for example, but the number of layers of the wiringlayer is not limited to two, and may appropriately set to any number inaccordance with the number of circuit elements of the semiconductordevice 10 or the like. The thickness of the interlayer insulating film28 is set to about 4 μm when the number of layers in the wiring layer isfour, for example.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, a first filter film 34 for forming the firstfilter 30A, which is a PB cut filter, is formed on the interlayerinsulating film 28. The first filter film 34 is formed by alternatelylaminating a high refractive index film and a low refractive index film(not shown in the figure). The high refractive index film may be asilicon nitride film formed by the plasm CVD method using silane (SiH₄)and ammonia (NH₃) as the material gas, for example. By controlling theflow volume of silane, the refractive index of the high refractive indexfilm can be adjusted. The low refractive index film may be a siliconoxide film formed by the plasm CVD method using TEOS(tetraethylorthosillicate) and oxygen (O₂) as the material gas, forexample. The refractive index of the low refractive index film made of asilicon oxide film is approximately 1.4.

More specifically, the high refractive index film and the low refractiveindex film are formed such that the thickness d₁ of the high refractivefilm and the thickness d₂ of the low refractive film fulfill Formula 1and Formula 2 above, respectively, when the median wavelength λ_(C) isset to the median wavelength of PB light. This way, it is possible toform the first filter film 34 having a wavelength selectivity that cankeep the transmittance of the visible light at a prescribed value orlower.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the first filter film 34 is coated with aresist 36, and by conducting exposure and development processes, a maskis formed in the area A to mainly cover the first photo-diode 80A.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5D, a part of the first filter film 34 coveringthe second photo-diode 80B (in the area B) is removed by etching throughthe mask. Through this process, the first filter 30A is formed.Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6A, the resist 36 is removed.

Next, the entire surface is coated with a resist 38, and by conductingexposure and development processes, a mask is formed in the area A tomainly cover the first photo-diode 80A as shown in FIG. 6B. In thisprocess, as shown in FIG. 6B, the resist 38 is formed such that an endof the resist 38 goes back from the end of the first filter 30A by aprescribed distance d.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the second filter film 35 for forming thesecond filter 30B, which is a PB cut filter, and the third filter film40 for forming the third filter 32, which is a UV-A cut filter, areformed. In a manner similar to the first filter film 34, the secondfilter film 35 and the third filter film 40 are formed by alternatelylaminating a silicon nitride film, which is the high refractive indexfilm, and a silicon oxide film, which is the low refractive index film(not shown in the figure). The forming method is the same as that of thefirst filter film 34, and therefore, the detailed description isomitted.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6D, the second filter film 35 and the thirdfilter film 40 in the area A are removed. This removal process can beconducted by lift-off, for example. Through this process, the secondfilter 30B and the third filter 32 are formed. Due to the distanceddescribed above, an end part E1 of the second filter 30B and an end partE3 of the third filter 32 cover the end part of the first filter 30A. Inother words, by changing the distance d, the degree of the coverage canbe controlled. The semiconductor device 10 of this embodiment ismanufacture through the processes described above.

Since end portions of the second and third filters 30B, 32 overlap theend portion of the first filter 30A, the blue and violet lights can beprevented from entering the first photo-diode 80A and the secondphoto-diode 80B. Furthermore, increasing the distance d can preventwater from entering the semiconductor device 10 through the interfacebetween the first filter 30A and the inter-layer insulating film 28, andthe interface between the second filter 30B and the inter-layerinsulating film 28, which can improve long-term reliability of thesemiconductor device 10.

As described above in detail, the photo-diode 80A in the semiconductordevice 10 detects the entire amount of UV, and the photo-diode 80Bdetects only UV-B out of the UV light. This makes it possible toseparate UV-A from UV-B more appropriately, and to detect the radiationamount of UV-B more accurately.

MODIFICATION EXAMPLE OF EMBODIMENT 1

A modification example of Embodiment 1 described above will be explainedwith reference to FIG. 7.

In Embodiment 1 above, the first filter 30A and the second filter 30Bare a PB cut filter, and the third filter 32 is a UV-A cut filter, butthe present invention is not limited to this example. The combination ofthe properties of the first filter 30A, the second filter 30B, and thethird filter 32 may be changed as shown in FIG. 7. Below, thecombination of the properties of the first filter 30A, the second filter30B, and the third filter 32 will be referred to as the property (theproperty of the first filter 30A, the property of the second filter 30B,and the property of the third filter 32).

Mode 1 shown in FIG. 7 is the same combination of the filter propertiesas Embodiment 1, or in other words, the combination of the filterproperties is Property (PB cut, PB cut, and UV-A cut).

In Mode 2, the combination of the filter properties is Property (PB cut,UV-A cut, PB cut). In Mode 3, the combination of the filter propertiesis Property (UV-A cut, UV-A, cut, PB cut). In Mode 4, the combination ofthe filter properties is Property (UV-A cut, PB cut, UV-A cut).

The filters of Mode 2 and Mode 4 can be manufactured by selecting anappropriate multi-film filter corresponding to each mode in theprocesses to form the first filter film 34 in FIG. 5B, and to form thesecond filter film and the third filter film 40 of FIG. 6C.

Embodiment 2

A semiconductor device 60 of this embodiment will be explained withreference to FIG. 8. The semiconductor device 60 differs from thesemiconductor device 10 (see FIG. 1) in the configuration of the filtergroup (PB cut filter, UV-A cut filter).

As shown in FIG. 8, the semiconductor device 60 includes a substrate 12,a buried oxide film 14, the first photo-diode 80A, the secondphoto-diode 80B, a P-side wiring layer 24A, an N-side wiring layer 26A,a P-side wiring layer 24B, an N-side wiring layer 26B, and aninter-layer insulating film 28. The configurations above are the same asthose of the semiconductor device 10, and therefore, the sameconfigurations are given the same reference characters, and the detaileddescriptions thereof are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 8, the semiconductor device 60 includes the firstfilter 31 and the second filter 33 instead of the first filter 30A, thesecond filter 30B, and the third filter 32 of the semiconductor device10. In this embodiment, the first filter 31 is a PB cut filter, and thesecond filter 33 is a UV-A cut filter. That is, in the semiconductordevice 60, the PB cut filter, which was separately provided as the firstfilter 30A and the second filter 30B in the semiconductor device 10, isformed integrally as the first filter 31. Even when the filter group hassuch a structure, the first photo-diode 80A of the semiconductor device60 receives the entire UV light, and the second photo-diode 80B receivesonly UV-B out of the UV light.

Thus, with the semiconductor device 60 of this embodiment as well, it ispossible to separate UV-A from UV-B more appropriately and detect theradiation amount of UV-B more accurately. Furthermore, the semiconductordevice 60 of this embodiment has the effect of easy manufacturingbecause the first filter 30A and the second filter 30B are provided asthe integrally formed first filter 31.

Embodiment 3

A semiconductor device 70 of this embodiment will be explained withreference to FIG. 9. The semiconductor device 70 differs from thesemiconductor device 10 (see FIG. 1) in the location of the filter group(PB cut filter, UV-A cut filter). FIG. 9A is a vertical cross-sectionalview of the semiconductor device 70, and FIG. 9B is a plan view of thesemiconductor device 70.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the area A where the first photo-diode 80A is to beformed is divided into the area A and the area A′ in the cross-sectionalview, and the area B where the second photo-diode 80B is to be formed isdisposed between the area A and the area A′. Corresponding to the area Aand the area A′, the first filter 30A is divided into the first filter30A and the first filter 30A′ in the cross-sectional view. The secondfilter 30B is formed on the interlayer insulating film 28 so as to be incontact with the first filters 30A and 30A′. The third filter 32 isformed on the second filter 30B.

As shown in FIG. 9B, in the semiconductor device 70, portions 72 of thethird filter 32 and the second filter 30B are removed to expose thefirst filters 30A and 30A′. The imaginary line Y shown in FIG. 9Bschematically indicates the boundary line that divides the first filterinto the area A and the area A′. The first filters 30A and 30A′ and thesecond filter 30B are a PB cut filter made of a multi-layer film filter,and the third filter 32 is a UV-A cut filter made of a multi-layer filmfilter.

In the semiconductor device 70 having such a configuration, thephoto-diode 80A detects the entire amount of UV light, and thephoto-diode 80B detects only UV-B out of the UV light. Thus, with thesemiconductor device 70 as well, it is possible to separate UV-A fromUV-B more appropriately and detect the radiation amount of UV-B moreaccurately. Furthermore, with the semiconductor device 70 of thisembodiment, the degree of freedom in the locations to form the firstphoto-diode 80A and the second photo-diode 80B in a semiconductor deviceimproves.

Embodiment 4

A semiconductor device of this embodiment will be explained withreference to FIG. 10. This embodiment differs from the respectiveembodiments described above in the film structure of the multi-filmfilter of the filter group. The configuration of the semiconductordevice other than the multi-film filter is the same as that of eachembodiment above, and therefore, the description of the semiconductordevice other than the multi-film filter will be omitted.

FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of a fourth filter 92 of thisembodiment. The four filter 92 replaces at least one of the first filter30A and the third filter 32 of the semiconductor device 10 of FIG. 1,the second filter 33 of FIG. 8, or at least one of the first filter 30A(30A′) and the third filter 32 of FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 10A, thefourth filter 92 includes a thick layer 98 in addition to a prescribednumber of pairs of the high refractive index films 94 and the lowrefractive index films 96 (five pairs in FIG. 10A, for example). Thethick layer 98 is thicker than the high refractive index films 94 andthe low refractive index films 96.

The thick layer 98 is preferably 2 to 2.5 times as thick as the highrefractive index films 94 and the low refractive index films 96. Forexample, when the high refractive index film 94 is approximately 45 nm,and the low refractive index film 96 is approximately 40 nm, thethickness of the thick layer 98 may be set to approximately 100 nm, forexample.

It is preferable that the thick layer 98 have the same refractive indexas that of the low refractive index film 96. That is, the thick layer 98can be formed of the same silicon oxide film as the low refractive indexfilm 96. As shown in FIG. 10A, the thick layer 98 is preferably disposedat the uppermost part of the fourth filter 92 (or in other words, theedge part of the light incident side).

The fourth filter 92 having the configuration described above may be apart of the UV-A cut filter or the PB cut filter in each embodimentabove. Needless to say, the fourth filter 92 can be a part of the UV-Bcut filter that cuts UV-B as necessary. By having the thick layer 98,the fourth filter 92 can have an improved blocking property against UV-A(transmittance property against UV-B), or an improved blocking propertyagainst UV-B (transmittance property against UV-A) as compared with thefilters in each embodiment above not having the thick layer 98.

Below, the characteristics of the fourth filter will be explained basedon the example of the UV-B cut filter (UV-A transmitting filter). FIG.10B is a graph showing the simulation results of the wavelengthcharacteristics of the transmittance and reflectance of the filters of acomparison example, which do not have the thick layer 98. On the otherhand, FIG. 10C is a graph showing the simulation results of thewavelength characteristics of the transmittance and reflectance of theUV-A transmitting filter using the fourth filter 92 of Embodiment 4,which does have the thick layer 98. In both FIG. 10B and FIG. 10, thethickness of the high refractive index film 94 was 45 nm, the thicknessof the low refractive index film 96 was 40 nm, the refractive index ofthe high refractive index film 94 was 1.8, and the refractive index ofthe low refractive index film 96 was 1.4. The thickness of the thicklayer 98 was 100 nm, and the refractive index of the thick layer 98 was1.4, which is the same as that of the low refractive index film 96. Thethick layer 98 was disposed at the uppermost part of the fourth filter92 (the edge part of the light incident side).

As shown in FIG. 10B, with the filter of the comparison example thatdoes not have the thick layer 98, the transmittance gets lower aroundthe wavelength 400 nm, which is the wavelength range of UV-A (partindicated with the arrow D in FIG. 10B), and the reflectance in thiswavelength range is at least 0.3. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.10C, with the fourth filter 92 that has the thick layer 98, thetransmittance does not get lower around the wavelength 400 nm, which isthe wavelength range of UV-A, and the reflectance in this wavelengthrange is 0.1 or less. As described above, with the fourth filter 92having the thick layer 98, it is possible to improve the transmittanceproperty for UV-A as compared to the filter of the comparison examplethat does not have the thick layer 98.

In each of the embodiments described above, the PB cut filter that cutsoff primarily the blue and violet lights was explained as an example ofthe filter that cuts off light of a visible wavelength, but the presentinvention is not limited to this, and the filter may be configured so asto cut off visible light in a longer wavelength range, for example.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device, comprising: a firstphoto-electric conversion element and a second photo-electric conversionelement disposed adjacent to each other, the first photo-electricconversion element and the second photo-electric conversion element eachoutputting a light current that is a current corresponding to anintensity of received light, each of the first and second photo-electricconversion elements having a light-receiving surface; a first filterdisposed on the light-receiving surface of the first photo-electricconversion element; a second filter disposed on the light-receivingsurface of the second photo-electric conversion element; and a thirdfilter disposed on the light-receiving surface of the secondphoto-electric conversion element and being in contact with the secondfilter, one end of the second filter and one end of the third filteroverlapping one end of the first filter at a vicinity of a boundarybetween the first photo-electric conversion element and the secondphoto-electric conversion element.
 2. The semiconductor device accordingto claim 1, wherein at least one of the first filter, the second filter,and the third filter is made of a multi-layer film having a highrefractive index film and a low refractive index film laminatedalternatively, the high refractive index film and the low refractiveindex film having different refractive indexes from each other.
 3. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the third filter isdisposed above the second filter and is made of a multi-layer film, thethird filter having a thick layer that has a same refractive index asone of the high refractive index film and the low refractive index filmand has a thickness greater than that of both the high refractive indexfilm and the low refractive index film.
 4. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the thick layer is disposed at anuppermost layer of the third filter.
 5. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 4, wherein the thick layer has the same refractiveindex as a refractive index of the low refractive index film.
 6. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the first filter andthe second filter are configured to block light of a first wavelengthrange, and the third filter is configured to block light of a secondwavelength range different from the first wavelength range.
 7. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the first wavelengthrange and the second wavelength respectively correspond to a wavelengthrange of visible light and a wavelength range of long-UV light, or thewavelength range of long-UV light and the wavelength range of visiblelight.
 8. The semiconductor device according to claiml, furthercomprising an interlayer insulating film formed on the firstphoto-electric conversion element and the second photo-electricconversion element each having a light-receiving surface, wherein thefirst filter is disposed above the light-receiving surface of the firstphoto-electric conversion element through the interlayer insulatingfilm, and the second filter and the third filter are disposed above thelight-receiving surface of the second photo-electric conversion elementthrough the interlayer insulating film.
 9. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 1, the second filter and the third filter each havean opening to expose the first filter.
 10. A semiconductor device,comprising: a first photo-electric conversion element and a secondphoto-electric conversion element, each having a light-receivingsurface, disposed adjacent to each other, the first photo-electricconversion element and the second photo-electric conversion element eachoutputting a light current that is a current corresponding to anintensity of received light; a first filter disposed on thelight-receiving surface of each of the first photo-electric conversionelement and the second photo-electric conversion element, the firstfilter being configured to block light of a first wavelength range; anda second filter disposed on the first filter above the light-receivingsurface of the second photo-electric conversion element, the secondfilter being configured to block light of a second wavelength rangedifferent from the first wavelength.
 11. A method of manufacturing asemiconductor device, comprising: forming, on a substrate, a firstphoto-electric conversion element and a second photo-electric conversionelement, each having a light-receiving surface, disposed adjacent toeach other, the first photo-electric conversion element and the secondphoto-electric conversion element each outputting a light current thatis a current corresponding to an intensity of received light; forming afirst filter on the light-receiving surface of the first photo-electricconversion element; and forming a second filter and a third filter onthe light-receiving surface of the second photo-electric conversionelement such that one end of the second filter and one end of the thirdfilter overlapping one end of the first filter at a boundary between thefirst photo-electric conversion element and the second photo-electricconversion element.
 12. The manufacturing method of a semiconductordevice according to claim 11, wherein the forming the second filter andthe third filter includes forming a resist mask on the first filter soas to recess from the one end of the first filter by a prescribeddistance, and conducting a lift-off process to remove the resist.